|
Register to Bid
To bid in our online auctions, you will need a bidder number and a password. Your bidder number will be e-mailed to you after you fill out the new bidder registration form. Use that number for all of our online auctions. If you forget your bidder number or your password, our system can remind you what they are. Once you have your bidder number, you are ready to view an auction.
After you get your bidder number, go to our home page (www.auctionmn.com), where we have links to current, upcoming, and past auctions. Clicking on one of those links will bring up the "Auction Details" page for that auction. The Auction Details page highlights some of the items in the auction; provides category links; and shows the preview, closing, and pick-up dates and times. It provides shipping information and indicates whether Minnesota sales tax will be charged. Auction terms and directions to the preview and pick-up location are also on this page.
View Photos, Descriptions, and Bid Boxes
To see the items in the auction and to show their bid boxes (in which you type your bids), click the CLICK HERE TO BID link, which you will find directly below the small highlight photos. Up to 50 items are displayed on each page of the auction. Scroll down to view all the lots on each page. If there are more than 50 lots, buttons for other pages will appear after the last item on the page. There would also be "Previous page" and "Next page" links above the first item on the page. We usually categorize the items in an auction. List items according to their category by clicking on one of the category links on the Auction Details page. Once you have a list of items displayed, you can choose categories from a drop-down menu above the top item in the list. There is also a keyword search box at the top.
Enlarge any thumbnail photograph by clicking on it. For those lots that contain more than one photo, thumbnails for additional photos appear on the page with the large version of the main photo.
To get a text-only list of all lots in the auction, click the "List of items" link.
Bid Increments and E-mail Notification
On every item in our auctions, a minimum bid and minimum increase (also called a "bid increment") is set by our system. Our software will not accept a bid lower than either the opening bid, or the current bid plus the minimum increment (increase). If an inappropriate bid is placed, a bidder will be notified immediately that their bid was not accepted, and provided with an option to correct the bid. Any current high bidders who are outbid at this time will receive notification by e-mail. No e-mail notices of being outbid will be sent out after after the auction starts to close.
| Current Price is at least... | Bid Increment |
| $15 | $1 |
| $100 | $2.50 |
| $300 | $5 |
| $500 | $10 |
| $1,000 | $25 |
| $3,000 | $50 |
| $10,000 | $100 |
| $20,000 | $250 |
| $35,000 | $500 |
| Over $35,000 | $1,000 |
Maximum Bids
You may enter the largest amount you are willing to pay for an item in the Max Bid box. The amount entered must be at least equal to the next required bid. The auction system will place the lowest bid necessary, and then will bid on your behalf in predetermined increments up to the amount of your Max Bid. You may increase your Max Bid, but no decreases are allowed. There is a link to the increments at the bottom of each bidding page.
Auction Closing Times / Refresh browser to see current bid
Our online auctions close at the rate of ten items per minute, starting at the time given on the main page for the auction that's closing. For example, if the scheduled closing time is 7:30 p.m., items 1-10 will close at 7:30 p.m., items 11-20 will close at 7:31 p.m., and so on until all items have closed. After the auction starts to close, no "You're been outbid" e-mails are sent. To make sure you are aware of the current bid amount during closing, you should refresh your browser frequently. If you fail to do that, your own screen may not show the correct total. In other words, you may think you are the high bidder when you are not.
Bidding Time Extension
Bidding remains open on any item for a minimum of two minutes and a maximum of three minutes from the last recorded bid time on that item, even if the scheduled closing time has been reached for that item. These closing-time extensions continue until no new bid is placed during the extended bidding time. This feature makes online bidding more like bidding at a live auction. You can always put in a Max Bid (see above) so you don't have to worry about bidding at the end of the auction. Note: Our site records the time of a bid as Eastern Time (ET). All other times are in Central Time.
Invoices
High bidders will receive an e-mailed invoice by 12 p.m. the day after the auction closes. We will also have a copy of the invoice at the pick-up location.
Loading
If we are not busy, and if your items are not extremely large or heavy, we will be happy to try and assist you in loading your purchases. If you have bought something very large or heavy, please bring your own help to load your item. AAA staff will not load heavy items. If we help you load, you agree to hold the workers and AAA Auction harmless for any injury or damages as a result of our assistance.
